This application is related to and claims priority from Japanese patent application No. 2001-44495, incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a weather strip and, more particularly, to a weather strip for attachment to a periphery of a door frame of a motor vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
As shown in FIG. 1, a weather strip 10 is attached to a periphery of a door 12 of a motor vehicle. When the door 12 is closed, the weather strip 10 seals between the door 12 and a door opening portion of a vehicle body.
Generally, to attach the weather strip 10 to a door frame 14 of the door 12, the weather strip 10 is mounted on a metal retainer provided along a periphery of the door frame 14. Recently, to reduce the weight of vehicle doors and decrease manufacturing costs thereof, the weather strips have been frequently attached with clips without using metal retainers.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional weather strip 10A which is attached to the door frame 14 with clips 16. The weather strip 10A is composed of an extruded body of a sponge rubber, of which the specific gravity generally ranges from 0.4 to 0.7. The weather strip 10A has a base portion 18, a tubular main seal portion 20 and a sub-seal lip portion 22. Clips 16 are mounted on the base portion 18. By press-fitting the clips 16 into clip holes formed in a weather strip attaching surface 24 of the door frame 14, the weather strip 10A is fastened to the door frame 14 by clips 16. When the door 12 is closed, the main seal portion 20 and the sub-seal lip portion 22 contact and press a door opening portion 26 of the vehicle body.
The above-described attaching structure using clips 16, however, has the following problem. Normally, the weather strip 10A is fastened to the weather strip attaching surface 24 at intervals of about 100 to 130 mm by clips 16. Between adjacent clips 16, the pressing force of the base portion 18 against the weather strip attaching surface 24 is small. Consequently, between adjacent clips 16, the bottom surface of the base portion 18 may deform upwardly and separate from the weather strip attaching surface 24 to degrade the sealing properties.
On the other hand, the sub-seal lip portion 22 has a small lip 28 on an outside surface thereof to seal between the sub-seal lip portion 22 and a door projecting portion 30 which projects from the weather strip attaching surface 24 around the door frame 14. The resultant seal, however, may become insufficient locally due to variations in the attached positions of the weather strip 10A, and consequently, when vehicles are washed under a high pressure, water may intrude inwardly via a gap between the sub-seal lip portion 22 and the door projecting portion 30.
Especially, in an upper frame part 32 (FIG. 1) of the door frame 14, which extends along a side of a vehicle roof, water is not readily drained, as compared to a vertical part along a pillar of a vehicle body. Accordingly, the water intruded inwardly of the above gap may enter and cross the space formed between the bottom surface of the base portion 18 and the weather strip attaching surface 24, and leak into a vehicle compartment.
In order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 3, it has been proposed to continuously form a notched step 34 along an outside lower end of the base portion 18 of a weather strip 10B in a longitudinal direction thereof, and dispose a high expansion sponge member 36 (specific gravity: 0.1xcx9c0.3) which has a thickness greater than the depth of the notched step 34 integrally with the notched step 34 (Publication of Japanese unexamined patent application No. 2000-185560).
The sponge member 36 is, however, composed of a soft material having a high expansion, as compared to the material of the weather strip 10B, and consequently, does not serve to prevent the base portion 18 from deforming upwardly and separating from the weather strip attaching surface 24 between adjacent clips 16. Furthermore, the thickness of the sponge member 36 which has a high expansion is locally nonuniform, and consequently, it is difficult to set the sealing properties of the sponge member 36 uniform over the entire length thereof.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a weather strip to be attached to a periphery of a vehicle door frame with clips, which is capable of preventing water from leaking into a vehicle compartment across a space occurring between the weather strip and the door frame between clips.
The weather strip in accordance with the present invention includes a base portion adapted to be secured to a periphery of a door frame with clips at predetermined intervals, a seal portion for contacting and pressing a door opening portion of a vehicle body upon closing of a vehicle door, a water-stopping lip formed along an end of the base portion outside clips-securing positions thereof such that a projecting end thereof contacts and presses the door frame upon attaching of the weather strip, and a longitudinal solid member composed of a material solider than that of the base portion, which is embedded in the end of the base portion so as to extend in a longitudinal direction thereof.
With the weather strip in accordance with the present invention, by virtue of the solid member embedded in the end of the base portion thereof, the base portion is prevented from deforming upwardly and separating from the weather strip attaching surface between adjacent clips, and the pressing force of the water-stopping lip against the door frame is ensured.
Other objects, features, and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification.